Attorneys for the Reds argue they don't have to pay tax because they resell the promotional items as part of the ticket package, but the state tax commissioner says the promotional items should be taxed because the Reds bought the items as giveaways and aren't selling them with the tickets.

Senior manager of group sales for the Twins, Phil McMullen, informed me that the prices for their promotional ticket packages are based on the price of their group tickets, which explains why the markup for the promotional item appears to vary by seat location when compared to buying a single game ticket alone. The same cannot be said for the Reds, whose price for promotional items vary by seat location.

The June 19 promotion in Cincinnati is available at three different price points in three different sections of the ballpark. The promotional ticket package is $25 per “View Level” ticket, $55 for a seat in the “Field Box” section and $80 for an “Infield Box” seat. The price of a ticket to the same game in the “View Level” section is $17. A field box seat is $41, and infield box seats range from $65 to $68. So the same bobblehead costs $8 when purchased with a “View Level” ticket, $14 when purchased with a “Field Box” ticket and between $12 and $15 when purchased with an “Infield Box” ticket. So fans purchasing the promotional ticket package will pay four different prices for the exact same product in the same store.

The Reds’ attorney says Ohio’s flawed tax code doesn’t require a specific dollar amount for a tax exemption to be claimed nor awarded, according to judicial precedent. But if these teams are indeed selling their promotional items and not giving them away, shouldn’t these markups for promotional ticket packages be consistent? I mean, the price of the promotional item shouldn’t be dependent upon the section in which you buy your tickets, right?

As a Twins season ticket holder, I don’t mind the idea of promotional ticket packages because the best giveaways are limited to the first few thousand fans and always require you to show up hours before gametime to stand in line. The best giveaway last season was a Prince umbrella that had people lining up outside Target Field four hours before gametime. I’d rather sacrifice my money than my time, so if there’s a promotional item I just have to have, I’d rather be certain of getting it than risk my time and money to end up empty handed. That said, though, I’m not going to pay more for the same item sold for less to fans sitting in the cheap seats.

Ronaldo Pleads Guilty to Four Counts of Tax Fraud, to Pay $21.8 Million

Ronaldo is unlikely to serve any time in jail under the deal because Spanish law states that a sentence of under two years for a first offence can be served on probation.

The plea agreement is similar to that of Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who was handed a 21-month prison sentence in 2017 on similar charges but under Spanish law was able to exchange the penalty for a fine.

Between 2005 and 2010, foreign players in Spain were protected under the so-called "Beckham law" allowing them to curb their taxes. But as the financial crisis deepened, that exemption was lifted, paving the way for the cases.

Half of Ronaldo’s $93 million annual salary comes from image rights deals with sponsors, which is likely the money being moved around to evade taxes.

Winslow allegedly prefers his victims mature. He’s accused of kidnapping, raping and forcing oral copulation of a 54-year-old woman in March, kidnapping, rape and sodomy of a 59-year-old woman in May, burglary with the intent to rape a 71-year-old woman in June, and burglary with the intent to rape an 86-year-old woman, also in June. Winslow posted $50,000 bail and was released. On June 7, Winslow was arrested on a felony charge of first-degree burglary in Encinitas. He was freed after posting $50,000 bail on that charge. Not much to be said except these charges are disgusting and you’d hope no one would be capable of committing such crimes.

Historically Foul Play

Let’s get nostalgic and talk about foul play of the past, when news was delivered on paper and milk in reusable glass bottles. Here’s your sports-crime history lesson we call Historically Foul Play.

On June 16, 2009, US Cyclist Tyler Hamilton, 38, received an eight-year ban for testing positive for a steroid called DHEA. Hamilton had announced his retirement two months earlier when he was made aware of the failed drug test, but the US Anti-Doping Agency wanted to assure Hamilton would be suspended for the remainder of his cycling career. Hamilton was accused of using blood transfusions, human growth hormones, testosterone, EPO, and insulin after failing drug tests earlier in his career. During the 2000 Athens Olympics, where Hamilton won a gold medal, his A sample showed signs of blood doping. The B sample was mistakenly frozen so that it could not be tested, so Hamilton was allowed to keep his gold medal. He tested positive again one month after the Olympics and was banned for two years. Hamilton kind of makes Lance Armstrong look good, doesn’t he?

Statistically Significant Foul Play

Time to get statistical and make some informed inferences in a segment we call Statistically Significant Foul Play, where we do an analysis of statistics that indicate foul play.

Foul Play-by-Play, its hosts, nor its partners practice nor condone the accusatory promulgation of foul play by athletes for the sake of the hot take. Cheats are innocent until proven guilty. That said, in this case of statistically significant foul player, I’d like to admit into evidence the following significant statistics indicating foul play.

The rate at which batters are being hit by pitches so far this season is .385 per game played, the highest rate since 2001’s .39 hit batters per game played. But is that more of a result of batters crowding the plate or pitchers pitching inside?